Orioles uncharacteristically busy, vanity in the art world, and more

City Paper

Artnet news' Christian Viveros-Fauné penned an essay decrying vanity in contemporary art, arguing "many artists today resemble textbook cases of narcissistic personality disorder," an epidemic that could "if left unchecked, turn into a serious mental health emergency." Indeed, with people like Donald Trump in the world, it's easy to overlook the relatively tame narcissism of art world star Chris Burden or actor-turned-performance-artist-or-something Shia LaBeouf. But at the same time, hasn't the art world always been pretty self-aggrandizing? At least now most artists don't publicly compare themselves to God. (Maura Callahan)

Our nation's capital has spent $200 million on a streetcar system that is years behind schedule and still can't be used. So how did this happen? The Washington Post has a story explaining the myriad problems that have plagued the design and execution of the project, including a maintenance shelter that has tripled in cost to $48.8 million. When it was first envisioned in the early 2000s, the new streetcar line was going to run on 20 to 40 miles, with an opening date for the first line targeted for 2006. Now, the opening 2.2-mile line will open at the start of 2016. (Brandon Weigel)

Over the weekend, the Orioles reportedly reached a four-year deal with reliever Darren O'Day, which The Sun's Eduardo Encina points out is a big part of an uncharacteristically busy early offseason for the club. In addition to retaining the services of O'Day, the O's have traded for first baseman Mark Trumbo and outfielder L.J. Hoes. Executives from Major League Baseball are now gathered in Nashville for the winter meetings, typically a site for lots of wheeling and dealing. Dan Duquette, executive vice president of baseball operations, intimated the team isn't done spending money yet. An increase in attendance has allowed the team to take "the money and invested it back in the team in payroll. So, we've been able to increase the payroll the last couple of years. So, we're going to continue doing that," he said. (Brandon Weigel)